Salvadoran Immigration Officials have expressed their desire to treat each application on a case by case basis because the documentation presented by American Citizens varies depending on the state or jurisdiction where the documents were issued.

The general requirements to obtain a work permit (for a local company) are as follows:

Application completed by the company hiring the applicant stating wages, duration of the employee services.

The records should reflect residence of the applicant for the past two years in the country where he/she lived.

Sworn statement from the Salvadoran spouse stating that he/she has the means to assist his/her spouse economically or applicant’s evidence of income (pension, etc.).

Medical report from a Salvadoran physician stating that the applicant does not suffer from a contagious disease.

Two copies of the applicant’s passport or evidence of the applicant’s citizenship.

Fee, which will depend on the type of residence the applicant, is approved for.

American citizens should be aware that any documents (i.e.: birth certificate, marriage certificates, divorced decrees, police record checks, etc) presented to the Salvadoran government (GOES) must be “Apostille” from the country of origin, also all types of documents must be issued within the last sixty (60) days otherwise they are consider invalid.

The documents must be apostille originals only, no photocopies or copies certified by notaries. Remember that the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador cannot provide certifications for any U.S. documents.

El Salvador and the United States are signatory members of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, commonly referred to as the "APOSTILLE Convention." El Salvador adhered to the convention in July 1995. The convention abolishes the requirement for Diplomatic or Consular legalization of public documents originating in one convention country and intended for use in another. Documents issued in a convention country which have been certified by a convention "APOSTILLE" are entitled to recognition in any other Convention country without any further authentication. Such recognition is an obligation on the part of the United States to the other countries party to the convention, and the federal courts and state authorities have been alerted to this obligation. Consular Officers in Convention countries are prohibited from placing a certification over the Convention Apostille.

In the case of state documents, the Secretary of State of the state issuing the document has this authority.

If you are required to present a legalized ("authenticated") U.S. public document (e.g., a birth certificate, school transcript, articles of incorporation, etc.) for use in El Salvador, you must have the appropriate authority in the United States affix an Apostille certificate to the document. Each of the 50 states has appointed its own Apostille authority, most commonly that state's Secretary of State. You can find the appropriate authority, along with their address, phone number, other contact information, and schedule of fees by searching the Internet for the official site of the U.S. state in which the document was issued, and then look for “authentication” or “apostille.”

If you need help with your application, you may consider hiring the services of a Salvadoran attorney to assist you with the paperwork.